PARKER – Investigators with the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Internal Revenue Service served search warrants and seized documents out of the home of two hunting guides in Parker Wednesday for their business, “Apache Park Ranches.”
“That’s a sure sign you’ve pushed everyone to their limit, including the federal government,” said hunter Vardell Taylor who hired the outfitters in 1999.
Richard Sears and his wife Erna have been providing elk and deer hunting trips for almost 20 years and have racked up multiple complaints, according to state records and hunters. The couple charges $5,900 for a 5-day rifle elk and mule deer trip.
Taylor and his friend say they gave Sears a $4,000 down payment to guide them on a deer hunt in South Central Colorado in 1999. Once Taylor learned that Sears’ outfitting license had been suspended by the state, he asked for his money back. But he says Sears refused to refund it.
“It’s just an example of the old ‘buyer beware,’” said Taylor. “You have to be sure you’re not giving your money to a crook. We should have dug a lot deeper before we trusted him, but we didn’t.”
Richard Sears put the business into his wife’s name after he surrendered his license in 1995, according to state records.
Erna Virginia Sears’ license is on probation until May 9, 2011. She was disciplined after hunting on private property without permission and for hiring a guide who did not have first aid credentials, according to state records.
Judgements and lien filings show the couple owe more than $150,00 to the IRS and other creditors.
The ColoradoDOW and IRS did not comment on the ongoing investigation.
Richard Sears did not return a call for comment.
If you have any news tips, please e-mail Investigative Reporter Deborah Sherman at Deborah.Sherman@9NEWS.com .
Click here to view rest of article from original site
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
![Hunting Basic White [vhs]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NGK5NB7VL._SL160_AA115_.jpg)
